Energy prices jump as millions left without power in Texas
Energy prices jumped Tuesday as a deep freeze in the South boosted demand for fuel and hampered production.
More than 4 million people were without power across Texas on Tuesday morning, according to poweroutage.us, as the electric grid couldn't keep up with heightened demand, forcing utilities to implement rolling blackouts in some cases.
"The majority of heating needs are met via electrical baseboard or heat pumps in the southern region," said John Kilduff, founding partner at Again Capital. "The demand for electricity over the weekend rivaled peak summer heat-wave levels."
Russia open to Musk's offer of a conversation with Putin via Clubhouse, seeks further details
Russia hasn't ruled out the idea of President Vladimir Putin talking to Tesla billionaire Elon Musk on social media app Clubhouse, according to multiple media reports.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Monday told reporters that the proposal was "interesting" but more details were needed, according to Tass news agency. The news was also reported by Reuters and Russian media outlet RBC.
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"First we want to figure it out, you know that President Putin does not directly use social networks, he personally does not run them," Peskov said, according to translated remarks.
Bitcoin surpasses $50,000 for first time as major companies jump into crypto
Bitcoin's price broke above $50,000 for the first time in history Tuesday, continuing its blistering rally as major companies appear to be warming to cryptocurrencies.
The world's largest digital currency by market value rose more than 3% to an all-time high of $50,487 at about 7:30 a.m. ET, according to data from Coin Metrics. It later fell below the mark, trading 0.6% higher at a price of $48,952.
Bitcoin has gotten a boost from news of large firms like Tesla and Mastercard showing support for crypto. Tesla last week revealed it had bought $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin and plans to accept the digital coin as payment for its products, while Mastercard said it will open up its network to some digital currencies. PayPal and BNY Mellon have also made big moves to support crypto.
